Règlement Organique (Mount Lebanon)
The Règlement Organique ("Organic Regulation") was a series of international conventions, between 1860 and 1864, between the Ottoman Empire and the European Powers, which led to the creation of the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.
The
An important consequence of the French expedition was the establishment of the autonomy of the
In September 1864, a further convention was signed, which confirmed the permanent character of the statute and made minor changes to it. An additional
5 September 1860 Agreement
Articles
- Article 1: A body of European troops, which may be increased to twelve thousand men, will be headed to Syria to help restore peace.
- Article 2: His Majesty the Emperor of the French immediately agrees to provide half of the body of troops. If it becomes necessary to increase its workforce to the number stipulated in the previous article, the High Powers would agree without delay with the Porte, by the ordinary diplomatic channels, the designation of those of them who would have to be filled.
- Article 3: The commander of the expedition will, upon his arrival in communication with the Special Commissioner of the Porte, to combine all the steps required by the circumstances, and taking positions that will be necessary to take care of fulfill the purpose of this Act.
- Article 4: Their Majesties the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of the French, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Prussia and His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias promise maintain sufficient naval forces to contribute to the success of joint efforts to restore peace on the coast of Syria.
- Article 5: The High Contracting Parties, convinced that this time will be sufficient to achieve the goal of peace they have in view, set the duration to six months of the occupation of European troops in Syria.
- Article 6: The Sublime Porte undertakes to facilitate, as far as it will depend on the supply and livelihoods of the expeditionary corps.
- Article 7: The present Convention shall be ratified and the ratifications exchanged at Paris within five weeks or sooner if possible.
Signatories
- Édouard Thouvenel for the Second French Empire
- Richard von Metternich, ambassador of the Austrian Empire to France
- Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley, British Ambassador to France
- Heinrich VII, Prince Reuss of Köstritz, diplomat (Legationsrat) at the Prussian embassy to France
- Pavel Kiselyov, Russian ambassador to France
9 June 1861 Agreement
Announcement
The draft Règlement, dated May 1, 1861, having been, after amendments by mutual agreement, converted into a final settlement will be enacted in the form of a firman by His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, and officially communicated to the Representatives of Five Great Powers.
Article I has led to the following statement made by His Highness Aali Pasha, and accepted by the five Representatives: "The Christian Governor responsible for the administration of Lebanon will be chosen by the Porte, which will report directly. He will have the title ofDeir el Qamar, which is placed under his direct authority. Invested with this authority for three years he will still be removable, but his dismissal may not be pronounced as a result of a judgment. Three months before the expiry of its mandate, the Porte is to prepare a new agreement with the representatives of the Great Powers."
It was also understood that the power conferred by the Porte to the officer, under its responsibility to appoint the Administrative Agent, would be given permanently, at which time it would have the authority, rather than for each appointment.
In relation to Article X, which relates to trials between subjects protected by a foreign power, on the one hand, and the inhabitants of the mountain on the other hand, it was agreed that a Joint Commission sitting in Beirut would verify and revise the "titres de protection".
To maintain the security and freedom of the road from Damascus to Beirut, the Sublime Porte will establish a blockhouse on the aforesaid road as it may deem most suitable.
The Governor of Lebanon may disarm the Mountain when the circumstances are favorable.
Signatories
- Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha on behalf of the Ottoman Empire
- Charles, marquis de La Valette, French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
- Anton von Prokesch-Osten, Austrian Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
- Henry Bulwer, 1st Baron Dalling and Bulwer, British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
- Robert von der Goltz, Prussian Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
- Aleksey Lobanov-Rostovsky, Russian Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
See also
Further reading
- Recueil des traités de la Porte Ottomane avec les puissances étrangères depuis le premier traité conclu, en 1536, entre Suléyman I et François I, jusqu'à nos jours (1864)
- The European Concert in the Eastern Question